


Hearts Wide Open

by ElysiumsFalling



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Boys Kissing, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 18:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16393076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElysiumsFalling/pseuds/ElysiumsFalling





	Hearts Wide Open

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Othalla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Othalla/gifts).



There was music coming from inside the Burrow. It was upbeat; happy despite the ache of loss they were all still struggling with. It was hard to believe that Fred had been gone for seven months already. Hard to believe that Remus, Tonks, and so many others were gone as well. The world felt a little emptier for it. Still, they all carried on. Time kept moving forward.

Harry tucked his hands in the pockets of his jacket and shivered against the growing cold. He should have placed a warming charm on himself when he’d come outside, but couldn’t be bothered with it now. The chill wasn’t so bad and there was still a little sunlight left in the day. Not much, but enough.

“Alright there, Harry?” a warm, deep voice asked and Harry glanced over his left shoulder to find Charlie there.

Harry offered him a small smile, then turned his gaze back to the ocean of rolling countryside. “Just needed some air,” he told him.

Charlie moved up to his side with an agreeing hum. “It can get pretty crazy in there. Especially during the holidays.”

“Yeah,” Harry said with a single nod of his head. “It’s good though. Everyone together.”

Charlie nodded as well. “George actually smiled this morning. It was nice.”

Harry gave another nod but didn’t reply. He didn’t know what to say really. None of it; the deaths, the fighting, the pain… none of it had been his fault and yet, Harry still carried a small sliver of guilt with him. He’d had one single, solitary purpose in life for the past six years. Defeat Voldemort. Maybe if he’d done a better job of it, fewer people would have died.

“Whatever you’re thinking, Harry, stop,” Charlie stated quietly and Harry glanced over to find the other man staring at him.

It was unnerving, the way those deep blue eyes seemed to be looking straight into the heart of him. It caused gooseflesh to creep up Harry’s arms and his heart gave a hard thump in his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but Charlie shook his head.

“You did everything you could,” the second eldest Weasley sibling assured him. “None of this was your fault.”

Charlie lifted one large hand and placed it on Harry’s shoulder, squeezed until Harry’s heart stumbled in its rhythm and made him swallow past the thick lump forming in his throat.

“You were a kid,” Charlie continued and the words were like a bucket of ice water being dumped over Harry’s skin. “An amazing kid, I’ll grant you, but still… it’s wrong that you had to shoulder all of this on your own.”

The extreme shift from cold to hot to cold left Harry a little lightheaded and confused. He didn’t know what the hell his body was playing at. The last time he’d felt this flustered and off-kilter had been with Cho on their date.

Charlie’s hand squeezed at his shoulder again and Harry realized he was staring at the man like an idiot. He cleared his throat, cheeks heating to about a thousand degrees, and looked back out across the Weasley’s backyard.

“It uh… I wasn’t alone,” Harry mumbled and attempted to tuck his hands deeper into his pockets.

Charlie’s thumb brushed a bit of bare skin just past the collar of Harry’s jacket, then dropped away and it felt as though a burning hot weight had dropped away from him. Harry straightened a little, shifted awkwardly, and tried to ignore the phantom feel of the man’s touch.

“No, you weren’t,” Charlie agreed. “But at the end of it, it was still all down to you, Harry. We all put a lot of pressure on you and I’m sorry for that.”

“Don’t be,” Harry told him. “It was no one’s fault. Well, besides Voldemort. And even if things could have been done differently, there’s no changing it now. We just have to move forward. Make the best of what we have left.”

Charlie chuckled; the sound a deep sort of rumble in the man’s throat, and Harry couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at him again.

“It’s difficult,” Charlie murmured softly, “reminding myself that you’re only eighteen.” He looked as though he were studying Harry’s face and it made Harry lick his lips nervously. “But I suppose you had to grow up a lot quicker than anyone ever needs to.”

Harry’s face heated again, the warmth spreading down his neck, and something fluttered in his stomach. “I…” Harry began, but Charlie cut him off.

“What will you do now?”

Harry blinked, the question resonating like so much Greek to his struggling brain. “What?”

Charlie grinned and repeated the question. “What will you do now? Will you go back to Hogwarts? Finish your last year?”

Harry blinked again and mentally shook himself. He needed to get it together. “No, I… well, honestly I haven’t thought much about it.” He toed at a clump of grass near his shoe and shrugged. “Kingsley offered me a spot with the Aurors and I guess that’s always been the plan so…”

“To hunt down the stray death eaters?” Charlie inquired. “Or permanently?”

“Permanently I think. I suppose after everything, he thinks I’ve more than proven myself capable.”

Charlie grinned again. “I’d say so.”

Harry smiled back this time and what tension had crept into his shoulders and neck, receded. “Mrs. Weasley said you were leaving soon. After the holidays. Heading back to Romania?”

He felt better now; more at ease and Harry brushed the last few minutes off as his own awkwardness at talking to people. When it came to people he was familiar with, Harry had no issues. He was relaxed and felt comfortable in his own skin. It was talking to people he didn’t know that well that threw him. He never knew how they’d react to him or if they’d treat him as ‘The Boy Who Lived’ rather than just plain old Harry Potter. Charlie seemed not to care one way or the other, other than being apologetic that any of it had happened in the first place.

“Yeah,” Charlie verified. “It’s time for me to head home. Things have settled here and the Borrow’s rebuilt. I mean there’s still of few finishing touches to put on, but nothing the others can’t handle. Mum would rather I stay, but she knows where my life is now.”

Harry nodded. “Never thought of doing anything else?”

“Nah,” Charlie replied with a shake of his head. “For me, it’s always been dragons. Ever since I was a boy. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Harry’s smile faded a little and he sighed softly. “Must be nice. To know yourself I mean. I think I’m still trying to figure that one out.”

“I’ve had a bit more time to figure it out is all,” Charlie told him and reached back up to give Harry’s shoulder another squeeze. “And you haven’t exactly had the easiest time of it.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed quietly. “I’ve been so focused on Voldemort and the war that, I don’t know… haven’t had much chance to be anything but the ‘Chosen One’. Don’t get me wrong. There have been some good times, but I don’t think there’s ever been a time when I could just…”

“Live?” Charlie offered and Harry looked over at him.

“Yeah,” Harry said again with a slight nod; happy that someone understood. “I don’t really know what to do with myself now that I have no real purpose. I mean, there’s hunting down the death eaters, yes. But, what then? Being an Auror is something I chose for myself and I’m happy with that. It’s the rest I’m uncertain of.”

“What about Ginny and you?” Charlie asked. “Is that something you intend to pursue?”

“Maybe,” Harry said with a sigh and shrugged again. “I don’t know. She’s got one more year at Hogwarts, then wants to try and play Quidditch professionally. I’ll have Auror duties. It’s… I mean, I like her, but I’m just not sure we’re there. You know?”

Charlie nodded. “I know. And whatever you decide will be fine, Harry. You’re family now. No matter what.”

Harry smiled at that and this time, the warmth spreading through him was one of completion and home. “I know. It means a lot. I’ve never really had a family before.”

“Yeah well, you’ve got one now,” Charlie assured him. “Whether you like it or not.”

“I like it,” Harry said, grinning from ear to ear. “I like it a lot.”

“Good,” Charlie intoned with one last squeeze to Harry’s shoulder. “Because there’s no getting rid of us now.”

Harry just smiled harder and for the first time in a long time, felt happy and safe and loved. It was a feeling he wouldn’t trade for anything.

They stood quietly after that, close but not touching, enjoying the sunset and the comfort of each other’s company. Ron joined them a little while later, as did Hermione and Bill. It was the first good night they’d had since the war and Harry decided then and there that all the bad was done. Now, it was time for the good.

 

* * *

 

In the summer of 2000, Ron and Hermione married, and the celebration went late into the night. They danced and drank; toasted the happy couple. Harry couldn’t remember either of his best friends looking happier. For that he was grateful. If anyone deserved happiness, it was the two of them.

As the night wore on, Harry drifted away from the party and ended up back where he’d been two summers ago, staring out across the expanse of countryside. It was too dark to see very far, but the ocean of stars above was more than enough of a view. He found Canis Major and smiled.

“This seems to be your favorite spot,” a familiar voice teased and Harry’s smile grew.

“Best spot at the Borrow,” he replied and looked over at Charlie as the other man came to a stop next to him.

The man’s hair was longer now; long enough that he had to pull it back with a strip of leather to tie it and Harry decided it was a good look for him. Much better than the too short haircuts his mother had forced on him.

Charlie nodded and took a sip of his drink. “I pretty much lived out here growing up. Mum had to fight me to make me come inside. There’s something about wide-open spaces though. Makes you feel like there’s more to this world. Makes you humble.”

Harry’s smile softened and he nodded. “Being out here, no boundaries or guards in place, it always helped me think,” he told him. “Living with the Dursleys felt like a prison, at Grimmauld Place I couldn’t step outside. Here and at Hogwarts were the only places I could be free. They were the only places that felt like home.”

“And where’s home now?” Charlie inquired.

Harry shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve got a little flat in London. Couldn’t bring myself to move into Grimmauld Place. Not yet. Maybe not ever. “

Charlie hummed deep in his throat and nodded. “Too many memories?”

“Yeah,” Harry replied and looked back up to the stars. “Too many memories.”

They stood silently, shoulder to shoulder for a while, before Charlie asked, “So just work and home? No one special in your life these days?”

Harry’s lips curled into a small grin and he shook his head. “Married to my work I suppose. Like you.”

Charlie gave a quiet chuckle. “We’re a sad lot, you and I. All work and no play.”

“It’s not for a lack of trying,” Harry expounded, “but every man or woman I meet seems to be more interested in the name rather than actually getting to know me. But I guess that was always going to happen.”

“It’s a shame,” Charlie murmured quietly and Harry turned to meet his gaze, surprised. “I only know a little about you, Harry. Far too little, in fact. But even I can see that the man you are outshines his name even on the brightest of days.”

Heat crept into Harry’s cheeks and he opened his mouth to speak, but the words got lost; drowned out by the sudden pounding beat of his heart. Charlie just smiled at him and held out his hand.

“Dance with me, Harry?”

Harry nodded and slipped his hand into Charlie’s. Charlie pulled him close, slipped his other arm around Harry’s waist. They swayed together to the music; danced there in the dark and Harry couldn’t help but smile.

“Why is it you’ve never married, Charlie?” he asked, lost in the other man’s gaze.

“Never found anyone more interesting than my work I suppose,” Charlie answered honestly. “All my life, it’s always been dragons. That and…” He fell silent, shrugged a shoulder.

Harry thought he knew what Charlie couldn’t bring himself to say. “I don’t think they’d care,” he said softly.

Charlie smiled. “No, I don’t think they would either. It’s just… easier staying silent than saying it out loud to the most important people in my life.”

“Understandable,” Harry said, gaze focused on the wedding tent across the lawn, “but I think maybe you don’t have to say anything at all.”

Charlie gave him a questioning look and Harry nodded towards the others. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were standing at the edge of the tent, arms around each other’s waist, watching them. Mrs. Weasley had her head pillowed on Mr. Weasley’s shoulder and they were both smiling. Charlie looked back to Harry and instead of letting him go, he held him tighter and picked back up the dance.

“Have dinner with me, Harry.”

Harry blinked at him, stunned but not as much as he thought he should have been.

“And how would that work?” Harry asked, curious. Charlie lived in Romania, Harry in London. Starting something, when there were so many reasons not to, seemed foolhardy.

“What?” Charlie asked with a teasing grin. “Dinner? Well, I was thinking we’d start with dessert first, then move on to drinks and possibly the main course afterward.”

“Shut up, Charlie,” Harry chuckled and leaned in to kiss him. It was soft and simple; a light press of lips that made Harry’s heart leap in his chest.

Charlie tightened his hold around Harry’s waist and one large hand buried itself in Harry’s hair. The kiss and the music continued, but the dance stopped. Charlie licked across Harry’s lips, nipped at the bottom one, and Harry opened to him before his floundering brain could talk him out of it. A warm, thick tongue slipped into his mouth and Harry moaned.

It felt wrong, somehow, being here with Charlie like this. And yet, that small sliver of wrongness was overshadowed by how utterly right Harry felt in Charlie’s arms. His world was spinning, expanding, opening to something he’d only half-daydreamed about years ago.

When they parted, it was only their lips. Harry pressed his forehead to Charlie’s and panted, “Just dinner?”

Charlie’s chuckle was deep and it vibrated Harry’s chest in the most pleasant way. “For now,” Charlie replied and Harry nodded.

“This is a really, really bad idea.”

“Oh yeah? Why?” Charlie inquired distractedly as he brushed his nose against Harry’s.

“Because,” Harry sighed happily, “My life is here and yours is in Romania. It’ll never work.”

Charlie hummed and pressed a kiss to the tip of Harry’s nose. “It’s just dinner, Harry,” he teased.

Harry smiled contentedly and nodded. “Is it?”

“Most definitely,” Charlie murmured and kissed him again.

 

* * *

 

A little over two years later and Harry was back.

The tent was set up in the backyard as it had been before; garlands of autumn leaves and hay bales were scattered here and there, and the setting sun was painting everything in shades of pink, orange, and gold. Music played merrily in the background and Harry was content, for the moment, to have escaped.

Hands folded into the sleeves of his robes, Harry sighed.

“Galleon for your thoughts,” whispered a voice in his ear, causing him to shiver.

“Are they worth that much?” Harry asked in response, only half-teasing. Sometimes he wondered.

“More,” Charlie assured him.

Harry gave a soft snort and shook his head. “I was just thinking about how perfect it all is. The day, the people, this… it’s been wonderful.”

“But…” Charlie urged and Harry shook his head as he turned to face him.

“No buts,” he assured him. “It really has been wonderful. Perfect in fact. Best day ever.”

Charlie grinned at him, pushed more into Harry’s personal space and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Does that mean I get to keep you all to myself again?” he asked and pressed a gentle kiss to Harry’s nose. “Maybe convince you to stay for breakfast?”

Harry wrapped his own arms around Charlie’s shoulders and smiled as well. “Perhaps,” he told him, “if you play your cards right.”

“I mean, I did come all the way from Romania just to see you,” Charlie pointed out.

“Hmm,” Harry hummed, eyebrow arched high. “And here I thought you came all that way for the wedding.”

“Well,” Charlie sighed, shrugging his shoulders, “I…”

“Oi!” yelled Mrs. Weasley from the edge of the tent and both of them turned, startled, to find her standing there with both hands on her hips. “This cake isn’t going to cut itself you know!”

It was Charlie’s turn to snort and he looked back to Harry with mischief in his eyes. “Have you told her about moving to Romania yet?”

Harry shook his head. “She’s still got her heart set on me convincing you to move home.”

“Now you two!” she bellowed when they didn’t move right away. “We threw this party for you after all! Can’t very well have it without you!”

“I think you should tell her,” Harry pointed out as they both pulled away from each other save for Charlie slipping his hand into Harry’s.

“No,” Charlie said with a shake of his head. “She likes you more. It’ll be easier coming from you.”

Harry cut his eyes at him, gaze incredulous. “She’s your mother, Charlie. She does not like me more than you.”

“She’s your mother too,” Charlie pointed out. “Besides, me telling her that I’m not moving back to England is just more of the same. Hearing from you that you’ll be moving to Romania, that’s different.”

“I can’t believe you’re this afraid of your own mum,” Harry chuckled and Charlie snorted again.

“Have you met the woman?”

Harry just rolled his eyes and tugged Charlie along faster. “You’re impossible,” he told him.

“And you’re wonderful,” Charlie replied.

Harry stopped, a smile curling his lips and he leaned in to press a kiss to his husband’s lips. “I love you,” he murmured softly.

“And I you,” Charlie whispered and returned Harry’s kiss with one of his own. 


End file.
